Whence Came the Stranger:
Tracking the Metapattern of Stranger in a Strange Land
By Adam Walks Between Worlds, ©1993

Theme: Mars (MIDI-file 60K)

In 1961 Robert Anson Heinlein published a novel about a young Martian named Valentine Michael Smith. The book, Stranger in a Strange Land (Stranger), burst from its modest initial reception in science fiction circles to become one of the most influential works of the 20th century. Its concepts molded the critical thinking of many important social movements and paved the way for that astonishing period of social, religious, and sexual reclamation that is misleadingly dubbed "the 60s."1 Arriving, as it did, at a nadir of American free thought and at a peak of media censorship, Stranger's publication was a minor miracle and its later mainstream success has always been considered a first class fluke. It became the first science novel to penetrate public consciousness since the days of Verne and Wells and initiated an unprecedented era of respectability for science fiction that opened the door for the Star Trek, 2001 and Star Wars. Stranger also marked a radical departure of form, not only for the author, but for American thought and expression in general. Stranger was the quintessence that transformed the nation's repressively conformist, post-war paranoia into the overtly sensual, erudite, cynical optimism that epitomized the years preceding the Reagan administration. Entire volumes could be devoted to the influence of Stranger on fields as diverse (or convergent) as religion, physics, computer science, philosophy, government, anthropology, ecology and the occult. Movies, songs, and books quickly reflected its major themes. Grok, Heinlein's Martian neologism for deep understanding, became a household word. Every form of media, art, and science paid its respects to Heinlein's creation. The Church of All Worlds and the Covenant of The Mithril Star were two of many groups that formed around Stranger's principles and inspiration.2

As a part of its enormous cultural contribution, Stranger afforded a vision of the future that has proved astonishingly accurate. Stranger accurately predicted many of the scientific, social and political changes that mark our times from waterbeds, faxes and teleconferencing to genetic engineering's effect on probate laws to the First Lady's private consultation with an astrologer to the rise of frightening religious fundamentalisms. Indeed, almost every major prediction of Heinlein's has been fulfilled.3 This extraordinary grasp of the future, as well as Heinlein's humor and wisdom, make Stranger as fresh today as it was thirty years ago.

Yet, for all Stranger's phenomenal successes and successful phenomena, the novel itself presents quite a few mysteries: How does a highly respected, conservative, commercial author of primarily juvenile science fiction come to write a heretical parable concerning, among other things, sexual freedom and responsibility, anti-Christianity, anti-patriotism, and applied cultural relativism? And, how does such a parable emerge from 'sleeper' status in science fiction circles to become a major classic best-seller of 20th century literature? How do entire religions coalesce from 'a mere work of fiction' -- the Holy Bible notwithstanding? What was the inspiration for so bold a stroke? What were you thinking, Mr. Heinlein?

The premise of this article is that Heinlein wrote Stranger as an allegorical recapitulation of Thelema. (The word Thelema is Greek for "Great Will" and refers to the body of philosophy and magickal practices codified by the late Aleister Crowley and continued by many.) This article details Heinlein's magickal interests, his relationships with the most famous of Crowley's American disciples, and his many coded references to Thelema in Stranger and other written works. Moreover, we will establish that Heinlein wrote Stranger with the intent of initiating a Thelemic 'whole systems transition' in human thought and expression. This means that Stranger cannot be regarded merely as the work of a master storyteller, the product of a literary genius. Rather, Stranger is much better understood as a consciously wrought, carefully considered and brilliantly successful casting -- a talismanic spell in itself, still dynamic, with its direct purpose being to spark human evolution along Thelemic lines. This is our hypothesis.

Establishment scientist Dr. Carl Sagan says, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof," and this article presents some certifiably extraordinary information -- not from science fiction and fantasy, but from real world history and real people. It's an amazing story and, as the significance of Heinlein's work begins to unfold, we'll find that Stranger has only just begun to inspire, shock and change us.

The game is afoot...

This explanation is difficult to pursue in linear form, bits of information tend to refer to one another, one story tends to bleed into another, and the required background covers a lot of history and detailed esoterica. Still, with a little luck and a bit of verdammte Quantumspringerei, we should meet the following goals. First, we'll examine Thelema and its likeness to Stranger, then we'll review Heinlein's involvement with Thelema, and finally we'll dissect some of the text of Stranger itself, decoding a few of the more obvious clues. We'll finish with a few corollary observations that polish up our new perspective on Heinlein's motives.

One can't discuss Thelema, per se, without first addressing the subject of its founder, Aleister Crowley. Unfortunately, most people associate Crowley and his writings with the Satanic accusations leveled against him by the popular 'National Inquirer' media of his native Victorian England. His 'devil worshipper' reputation is reinforced by his inclusion in the pseudo- Satanic trappings of today's heavy metal music. Also, many of Crowley's most visible fans lean towards the unfortunate habit of freedom of expression -- which tends to makes folks nervous and often winds up being covered today's popular 'National Inquirer' media.4

As recent press lynchings prove, a media rap can be more damning than a federal conviction (compare Oliver North's fortunes to that of William Kennedy Smith's accuser) and the labelling of any subject as 'occult' is sufficient to cause academicians to lose grants and the faithful to risk ex-communication. As a result, most responsible people (read: afraid 'cause they got something to lose) avoid mentioning Crowley or Thelema in public, leaving his ideas in that frightfully rich garbage pail of 20th century Establishment cast-offs. While tagging an individual or body of thought off-limits doesn't bring us closer to the truth, it certainly makes it difficult to assess Crowley's ideas on their own merit without being overwhelmed by noise about their origin. As a result, Crowley's bad boy rep has long been a millstone around Thelema's neck and even the most zealous Thelemites sometimes grumble about continuing the legacy of so vilified a man.5

This article is not a defense of Crowley, but it is important to understand that a philosophical exposition of Thelema intended for the general public -- and Stranger is only one such -- would have to be constructed in such a way that book burners and witch hunters couldn't associate it with Crowley. As it was, Stranger was actually burned by some Christians and Moslems (while being hailed by others) and Heinlein was threatened several times by the Fundies. To hide his Thelemic orientation, Heinlein counted on the intellectual dullness of his potential detractors, knowing that any God- fearing critic of unChristian works would never stoop to reading as hated a man as Crowley and, thus, could never interpret the codes in the text. Heinlein concealed his Thelemic messages in symbols that only a fellow Thelemite would understand. In other words, you'd have to be playing the game in order to play the game.

"The word of the Law is Thelema."6

Thelema begins with the observation that each life is deity and continues in lengthy, detailed commentary on the responsibilities and ramifications of godhood plus tips, hints and recipes for today's active deity. This is embodied in the three basic principles of Thelema. The first, and most famous, is: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."7 While this 'Law of Thelema' is generally insufficiently translated as 'do what you like,' Crowley maintained its true meaning was that: a) Each life has a higher nature and a divine purpose. b) That each life, with differing degrees of efficiency, is currently involved in communication with the higher self for the accomplishment of their divine purpose. c) That any and every life must begin their striving by actively acknowledging and actively worshipping the divinity in themselves, in certain concepts and in every other living thing.8 d) It is understood that the nature of one life's divinity and divine purpose may be inscrutable to another and even to him or herself.9

According to Crowley, the trick to the Law of Thelema is in the words "Thou" and "Wilt." The first word is formal in Old English and refers to the higher self, the deity within; and the second word refers to the divine purpose -- it is a different and more potent concept than 'will'.10

It will become clear, especially as the intelligence herein is presented, that the Law of Thelema is the inspiration for Michael's observation "Thou art God," -- notice the Thou from the Law of Thelema -- "That which groks [is God]."11

This is a difficult concept to express in a sound bite, and although both Crowley and Heinlein did pretty well, they and both complained bitterly that language was inadequate. The brevity and odd construction of these statements contain the 'fullness' of the concept, making them something along the lines of a koan, but like the koan, there is an obvious need for depth understanding. Apprehension doesn't come without effort and deep reflection.

The Law of Thelema has another use. Crowley instructed his followers to greet everyone with "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," and began all of his communications, written and oral, with these words to remind the speaker and the listener of their shared divinity.12 Similarly, in Stranger the Nest even uses "Thou art God," as the first words shared among water brothers and the real world groups inspired by Stranger share this greeting often. Most modern Thelemites abbreviate the Law of Thelema to its Qabalic equivalent of 93, making this number something of a buzzword and greeting among the in crowd. Sadly, this abbreviation also reduces the impact of this most powerful statement.

Communicating with the divine as the center of all life and action brings us to the second major principle of Thelema: "Love is the law, love under will,"13 which is usually said in response to "Do what thou wilt..." or in closing a speech or letter.14

Typically, this Law of Love is also misunderstood as mere license. Crowley interpreted to mean that any action from the higher self must be, by definition, an act of the deity and, ergo, an act of love. This is not the fearful, insecure sentimentality of modern romance, but the divine and passionate union of one part of creation with all other parts of creation.15 As diverse as the universe itself, divine love can take many forms: according to Odin it can be death in battle, according to Vulcan it's a hard day's work raping the planet, according to Pan it's nymph and tuck, according to Hermes it's theft and seduction, et cetera.

Between the first two Laws, Thelema may sound like justification for the greatest possible excesses, and, well, it is. But, as Heinlein observed, these "[are laws] of nature, not an injunction, nor a permission."16 These principles do not pretend to describe a set of inspired religious lifestyle proscriptions. Rather, they comprise demonstrable, scientifically accurate, functional observations about life and the universe. Thelema begins with the observation that each life has the freedom to create and destroy at will regardless of any later moral, ethical or aesthetic judgement. Another way of rehashing the two first principles are to quote Hassan I Sabbah who said "There is no Truth. All is permissible." Provocative? You could write a book about it.17 This precise issue is addressed towards the end of Stranger when Michael has annihilated various criminals housed in prisons and in public office. Jubal asks him, "Aren't you afraid of playing God, lad?" "Mike grinned with unashamed cheerfulness. 'I am God. Thou art God... and any jerk I remove is God, too... And when a cat stalks a sparrow both of them are God, carrying out God's thoughts." 18 (Italics his.)

A mind-blowing responsibility comes with acknowledging the freedom to act and Heinlein points out that the law of Thelema applies to lynch mobs as well.19 Not that this devalues these observations. Rather, it demonstrates their global application and reemphasizes the understanding that one person's Great Will may be inscrutable to another.

This dovetails nicely into the third principle of Thelema: "Every man and every woman is a star." Here is the essence of the 'all men are created equal' rap and is commonly misunderstood to mean that merely being born qualifies one for the rewards that other people may have accrued including respect, opportunity, love, security, et cetera. Its real meaning is that "Every man and every woman has a course, depending partly on the self, and partly on the environment which is natural and necessary for each. Anyone who is forced from his [or her] own course, either through a lack of self- understanding [sic], or through external opposition, comes into conflict with the order of the Universe and suffers accordingly."20

We find this curious, worshipful tolerance a familiar theme throughout Stranger -- a theme which balances the seeming severity of the two earlier Thelemic principles. Michael spends enormous amounts of (subjective) time and energy grokking before he acts, and thus he is in accord with himself and the universe, not counting mistakes, when he encounters a cusp. Jubal, the books other major character, is also in constant philosophical motion, attempting to grok through the haze of his self-admitted tribal taboos. Stranger's whole plot may be best understood as Jubal's (and the other major characters') eventual enlightenment to this basic Thelemic principle and the defeat of their cultural filters.

Before closing the topic of Thelema, it is important to pass on a few details about how Thelema is shared and practiced. This makes it easier to frame the clues from Stranger. The Thelemic current seems to have roots in the writings of earlier philosophers and magicians and the movements they founded,21 but modern Thelema stems from a brief, enigmatic text channelled by Crowley, called the Book of the Law or Liber AL vel Legis (we'll call it Liber Legis). It is the source from which all of Thelema is drawn.

It interesting to note that Heinlein has Michael reading "such deviant oddities as Crowley's Book of the Law" alongside other more traditional religious texts in the first scene that presents Michael as seriously struggling with his humanity.22 It is a very prominent, even tongue-in-cheek reference and many people, including Hymenaeus Beta, head of the world's largest Thelemic organization, recall Stranger as the first place they had ever heard reference to Crowley.23

Liber Legis is a complex, poetically striking book. It is rife with puns and references from diverse mythological, magickal, alchemical and Qabalic sources. It is a miracle of allegory and some of its codes have been an inspiration to cryptographers since at least before WWII. Its themes are myriad and include the announcement of the New Age,24 an age of the magickal child which follows the primeval maternal age and the current declining patriarchy. The book heralds earth changes and changes in the state of magick, offers advice and commentary on Thelema, and makes several predictions including the coming of a Thelemic magickal child who will succeed Crowley. This would seem a good idea since Crowley himself never figured out all of the kinks in Liber Legis, a situation which is predicted in taunting passages of the book itself,25 nor was Crowley ever at peace with contents of the book. Only years after he received Liber Legis, and only when absolutely inundated by bizarre synchronicity from the text, did he begin to circulate Liber Legis and propagate Thelema.

He did this by printing vast quantities of Liber Legis, and many other remarkable texts, and selling them or (rarely) giving them away. He also founded several magickal organizations and co-opted a pre-existing magickal organization of Masonic heritage, the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) into his Thelemic fold. These organizations grew (and splintered and metastasized) to become large worldwide networks of both secret and public Thelemic societies. This is an epic story in itself.

These magickal orders are based on nine degrees of initiation which reflect the acquisition of magickal and mundane knowledge and illumination. There is a tenth degree, mostly administrative, which indicates the order's temporal head, and even a mysterious eleventh degree. The Order is organized (mostly) around 'lodges' where members often share living, learning and ritual space. A quick scan of Crowley's bylaws for the OTO seem to call for the creation of an extended family within the lodge and a network of lodges around the globe, united in magickal ties deemed stronger than blood and dedicated to the propagation of Thelema.26 Does all this sound familiar? It is a very close approximation of the Nest and its influence is apparent in those real life groups inspired by Stranger. Coextant with the OTO is a religious body, the Gnostic Catholic Church which is organized roughly along the lines of churches everywhere, but whose final authority rests in the head of the OTO. The GCC is known primarily for their mass which celebrates the Goddess and her union with the God. It is a deeply moving ceremony and is one of the few Thelemic rituals routinely open to the general public. It bears a very strong resemblance to the ritual witnessed by Ben Caxton in Stranger.27

So, to recap, there seems to be an astonishing similarity to the content and forms of the nest and the philosophy and practice of Thelema; yet, for the purposes of this article, such similitude is but a start. So far, we have a neat set of coincidences and a single overt mention of "Crowley's Book of the Law." Yet, for a man of Heinlein scholarship this could be dismissed as a fluke or even as two great minds thinking alike. Let's see then, if we can demonstrate that Heinlein was intimately involved with magick in general and Thelema in particular.

Time Enough for Magick

Heinlein's interests had included magick from early in his career. In 1941 he wrote the novella Magic, Inc.,28 a delightfully wise and funny treatment of modern society's reaction to the 'scientific' discovery of magic. His story demonstrates a genuine scholarly inquiry into the history and practice of magic,29 and addresses many social, economic and political ramifications of a burgeoning high tech, magickal industry.30 In the story, widespread industrial use of magick falls victim to a racketeering operation composed of organized crime and corrupt government officials who plot to establish a monopoly on magick and then bar its use by private citizens. (One can almost whiff the spoor of G. Gordon Liddy!) It is easy to see how the story might have arisen from Heinlein's famous opposition to gun control for the plot can be summarized: "If magick is outlawed by government, only outlaws and government will have magick."31

Heinlein seems to have employed magickal and Thelemic themes in many of his works, particularly the later ones. Most of his plots concerned the liberation of strong minded individuals from external control and their transmogrification into their greater selves. This process of discovering and dedicating one's great destiny is inherent in "Do what thou wilt." It is a process Thelemites call apotheosis and is deemed, for many, the raison d'etre of magick, indeed, of life itself.

Since it is clear that Heinlein was involved in magickal scholarship -- and it's hard to imagine a field in which he wasn't engaged in some degree of scholarship -- Heinlein's exposure to Thelema may have initially come from his vast reading. Crowley was widely (and often grudgingly) considered the greatest magickal genius of his day even by people who hated him. His Qabalic classic 777 32 is a standard reference among all but Orthodox Jewish sources -- some of whom also note Crowley. Dion Fortune, Allan Bennett, James Joyce, Austin Osman Spare, Somerset Maugham, Sibyl Leek and most other early 20th century occult superstars had much to say about Crowley, most of it contradictory, and all of their works are profoundly affected by him. Crowley's influence was not confined to magick alone: he was an avid sportsman, a fecund writer, and a 'personality' whose life affected many artists, poets, writers and scientists of his time. It is hard to imagine a man as widely read as Heinlein missing mention of "the wickedest man in the world."

Yet, until recently it was very difficult to document Heinlein's personal involvement with magick except by examining his writings. He was an intensely private man who felt his livelihood potentially threatened by the repressive moral climate of his times.33 He seldom invited contact with the press or organized fandom and there are very few hints of his personal life available in his biographies. While some anecdotes survive that show Heinlein as some sort of Santa Claus or friendly wizard,34 he would have been a 'maybe' on the closet magician list were it not for his relationship with three of the most famous Thelemic magicians besides Crowley: John Whiteside Parsons, Marjorie Cameron and L. Ron Hubbard who together participated in one of the most famous 20th century magickal operations, the Babalon Working.

Hubbard, best known for his successful mid-life career transition from science fiction author to founding deity of the Church of Scientology, knew Heinlein intimately. Only several mentions of Hubbard are made in Heinlein's biographies and collected letters, but it is clear that they were close. Hubbard and Heinlein lived near each other, served as officers in the Navy, worked for the same magazines, and, from what one reads, seem to have been close personal friends.35 Hubbard also wrote copious science fiction, and even introduced Heinlein to literary agent and long time friend Lurton Blassingame.36 For that matter, Heinlein seems to have been intimate with the other messianic science fiction writers of his era, Theodore Sturgeon, Arthur C. Clarke and Frank Herbert -- whose works bear closer inspection for the magickally minded.

Cameron is an influential poet, artist and actress who contributed greatly to the underground arts movement in California over the last thirty years. An advocate of Goddess worship since the '50s, her life story reads like a Tom Robbins novel. Her list of close friends and co-workers includes many key writers, film makers including Kenneth Anger, Anais Nin, and Louis Culling. An exhibit of her artwork was seized by LA Vice in the early '60s and became the battleground for California's first art vs. obscenity trials. (She won.) She also appeared in some of Hollywood's best and most legendery underground films. An enormously spiritual and accomplished woman who is today very reclusive -- due to the demands of her "sacred grandmothering" -- she was the center of the Babalon Working.

Parsons was the 'poor, little rich boy' co-founder of the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena.37 Considered one of the most brilliant rocket scientists of his day, he is credited with advancing both solid and liquid rocket fuels, enabling much of the post-war jet and rocket technology. Werner Von Braun claimed that it was Parsons, not himself, who was the true father of American rocketry. NASA owes much to this man's brilliance and energy and named a crater on the moon after him. Parsons was also a dedicated Thelemic magician involved with the OTO from late in the '30s, eventually becoming magister templi of the famous Los Angeles-based Agape Lodge. Crowley favored Parsons and greatly encouraged the young scientist.38 Parsons' true life story is every bit as compelling as Faust's. He was a remarkably handsome, noble, creative and passionate man. While inventing the technology that would eventually land us on the moon, he ran the Agape Lodge -- then the world's only functioning OTO lodge -- edited and published the lodge's single newsletter, the Oriflamme, and maintained an active participation in many of the arts and sciences. A recently published collection of his essays Freedom is a Two-edged Sword demonstrates his startling clarity of vision and keen understanding of magick.39 It should be required reading for anyone with an opposable thumb. Parsons died the day before Midsummer in 1952 following an explosion at his home. The official explanation for the tragedy is oddly poetic and ironic -- he dropped a vial of fulminate of mercury. Forty years later, conspiracy theories abound about his death, as they do for that other handsome, noble, world class hero who was dedicated to the space program. How does an upper class, major league rocket scientist genius get involved with something like Crowleyism? World history is full of leading scientific minds who have found the magickal tradition both exciting and useful. Leonardo da Vinci, Dr. John Dee, Franz Kepler, Giordano Bruno, Isaac Newton, and even Copernicus all published works in what would later be dubbed "occult sciences." Liebnitz and Boule, whose algebra is the fundament of all modern computers and communications, derived their theories from their Qabalic work. Most of the early advances in chemistry came from alchemists, much of mathematica stems from the magickal traditions, and metaphysics was considered part of a complete education up until the end of the 19th century. It is only within the last hundred years that the Establishment has forced scientists to kick magick into the closet -- and, from what one hears, magick continues to whisper through the keyhole. In fact, Parsons was introduced to Thelema and the OTO by a fellow scientist (there seem to have been several around) and later became 'sold' on Crowley and Liber Legis because they predicted the work of Einstein, Heidegger and quantum theory. Many leading scientists today are still very deeply moved by Crowley and Thelema.

Cameron 40 and others recall that Heinlein and Parsons were quite close friends. They may have met at the Los Angeles Science Fiction Fan club wich maintained a reading room -- they were certainly seen there together. It was also common for science fiction authors to tour the Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratories that Parsons co-founded. Heinlein was particularly avid in availing himself of such tours. He used to take years off to study advances in science and often wrote glowing of NASA. So here was Parsons, the wunderkind of the rocket scientist community while Heinlein was its chief PR man and visionary. Space travel was both men's passion and livelihood. They had much in common, including their friendship with L. Ron Hubbard, who must have mentioned one to the other. Heinlein lived within driving distance of Agape Lodge which often performed the Gnostic Mass and, judging from Stranger and other writings, Heinlein was quite familiar with the ritual.41

In 1946 Hubbard and Parsons collaborated on perhaps the most famous modern magickal operation: the Babalon Working. This was an intensive, exhausting operation which allegedly opened a dimensional door for the manifestation of the goddess Babalon in human form. The Babalon Working was initiated to answer the previously mentioned prophecy of Liber Legis, the prophecy of Crowley's magickal heir, of which it said: "The child of thy bowels, he shall behold them.

"Expect him not from the East, not from the West; for from no expected house cometh that child."42 This prophecy continues to grip the imagination of many Thelemites and also forms the basic plotline for Stranger.

At the risk of getting a bit ahead of ourselves, let's take a second to compare the above quote from Liber Legis to the scene in Stranger where Madame Vesant the astrologer struggles with Michael's natal chart. She quickly becomes stumped -- he comes from no expected house.43 And since we're comparing Stranger quotes to Thelemic quotes, let's review Crowley's retelling of the Bacchus/Dionysus myth with an eye to the plotline of Stranger."[O]ne commemorates firstly his birth of a mortal mother who has yielded her treasure house to the Father of All, of the jealousy and rage excited by this incarnation, and of the heavenly protection afforded to the infant. Next should be commemorated the journeying westward [sunward?] upon an ass. Now comes the great scene of the drama: the gentle, exquisite youth with his following (chiefly composed of women) seems to threaten the established order of things, and that Established Order takes steps to put an end to the upstart. We find Dionysus confronting the angry King, not with defiance, but with meekness; yet with a subtle confidence, an underlying laughter. His forehead is wreathed with vine tendrils...[h]e is an effeminate figure... [who] hides horns.44

At this point, of course, we're well into the third part of the proof, the decoding of Stranger. After all, we have proven that the basic concept of Thelema is in all ways consistent with the grokking of Stranger. We have demonstrated that Heinlein had intimate contact, not just with Thelema and magick, but with two of the most famous Thelemic magicians in history. And, if we need more proof, there are many other little clues as well. For example, in the last letter in Grumbles From The Grave, 45 Heinlein uses Crowley's Thelemic motto, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," and Heinlein's later books use many Crowleyan, Thelemic, Qabalic or magickal references. In fact, decoding Heinlein's work may well serve as a correspondence course in magick allegory. But before we dig further into the text of Stranger, let's examine the history and criteria of allegory so we have a common frame of reference for our foray.

In Search of Stranger

Throughout history, it has always been the coded or allegorical works that have truly inspired whole systems transition in contemporary thought and expression. Coincidentally, these are also the works which have endured the test of time to become classics: the fiction of Lewis Carroll46 and Jonathan Swift, the art of Leonardo da Vinci47, the architecture of Gothics48, the sculpture of Rodin49, the drama of Shakespeare, the poetry of Blake or Swinburne -- even the films of Spielberg and the songs of Don McLean or Paul Simon. These works have four characteristics in common. First, they contain or reference obviously coded, allegorical, or metaphorical meanings which have greater dimension than the work or medium itself. Second, their finished structures represent radical departures from contemporary expressive norms. Third, their finished structures are built with a missing key -- that is, the work evokes questions and provide hints to answers but stubbornly fails to provide the answers themselves, leaving the audience with the challenge to get up and seek the answers on their own or to go back to sleep. This leads to the fourth characteristic, that the act of cognition regarding the work evokes radical evolution in thought and expression. There is a fifth thread (Discordians sigh) which is harder to establish as universally that links these coded and allegorical works to an evolving current of philosophical expression that has always interwoven mainstream culture while rarely taking its own identifiable form. This current has been labelled hermetic, alchemical, Rosicrucian, magickal, occult, Templar, et cetera and while dialectics occur, as well as idiosyncratic or contemporary modes, there is a clear, demonstrable line of intellectual (and ontological) heredity among these forms.

There is a large problem, however, in proving that these characteristics exist. To decode the allegory, or to have sufficient breadth to connect the lines of heredity, requires intense scholarship as well as, and this is a critically important point -- experimentation with the material involved. Also, any reasonably accessible exegesis must focus on the simplest lines of connection lest the whole discussion seem to map the interpreter's process rather than the master's opus -- Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation as applied to literary crit. To avoid this problem, we'll concentrate only on major themes, referenced by a minimum of readily available works, and connected by the broadest of strokes. Perhaps a later work will illuminate the many delightful and detailed nuances.

For it is vital that the allegory itself be presented freshly; its recognition must trigger the 'Aha!' effect or its value is diminished. Indeed, we postulate that allegorical works contain a metaphorical stimulus that takes the form of a stimulating metaphor. This stimulus awakens certain parts of the consciousness as effectively as any initiation -- it is, in fact, the germ of initiation -- and contributes to a demonstrable evolution in the efficacy and quality of creative understanding and expression: it is called enlightenment.50 That Stranger is rich in this stimulus can be proven not only by the investigation that follows in this article but also in consideration of the amazing transitions that were wrought by those people who were 'turned on' to Stranger.

Let's see how Stranger meets the requirements for an allegorical work. First, does it contain or reference coded meanings? Yes. In fact, it is striking how many 'obvious' coded references Heinlein includes. Besides the numerous quotes and references to classical literature, Heinlein actually introduces some puzzles with text that identifies them as such. For example: there is a discussion of the true meaning of the names Abigail Zenobia, Anne and Michael's love child; and Fatima Michele, Maryam and Michael's issue51 which is introduced as a puzzle. Another example is the rapid changing of names: Gillian Boardman becomes Jill, Miriam becomes Maryam, and, most complex and revealing, astrologer Madame Alexandria Vesant becomes Allie Vesant and then Becky Vessey. A wonderful example of these 'obvious' puzzles is the code word 'Berquist' used in a confrontation with Captain Heinrich52 which sets up the SS raid on Jubal's house. There are many other references, such as the Rodin sculptures mentioned above, Ben Caxton's appropriate door code of "Karthago delenda est"53, and the neo-neo-Platonic dialogues between the angelic forms of the deceased Arch Bishops Foster and Digby54.

Does Stranger's finished structure represent a radical departure from contemporary expressive norms? Yes. Remember that any form of expression that didn't lock step with the ultra-right was taboo and, still shivering from the Commie hunts, big publishers wouldn't bite. Yet, Stranger spoke with what passed for brutal frankness in those days on a number of taboo subjects. Also, Stranger was a very long volume for those days and its length was often mentioned negatively in reviews. Finally, Stranger was blatantly Messianic and, at the same time, anti-Christian which offended many of the clergy.55 Perhaps the best way to tell if Stranger violated norms is to scan the reviews it received. It was labelled everything from fascism to pornography, from a Utopian fantasy to a heretical nightmare. No two reviewers could agree on anything including whether or not Stranger was science fiction56 In fact, Heinlein deliberately wrote Stranger to defy categorization and "to attack the biggest, fattest sacred cows around."57 And, by Goddess, was he successful: "[Stranger] appealed to an incongruous medley of libertarians and liberals, anarchists and socialists, earnest reformers, angry rebels, and pleasure-seeking do-your-own-thingers."58 This 'incongruous medley' continue to publish widely read articles to this day which lay passionate claim to Heinlein's inspiration while furiously dismissing those ideas which don't fit neatly into their ideologies. He is the duck-billed platypus of a dozen dirty dogmas, defiantly refusing to conform to any categorist's box. Moreover, there's dozens of boxes that Heinlein's been kicked out of. Many are the articles which refute his claim to being an individualist, a collectivist, a socialist, a capitalist, a libertarian, a communist, a militarist, a pacificist, a sexist, a feminist, et cetera ad nauseam -- all of which is absurd since Heinlein himself claimed none of these labels. The point is that many people from many philosophical and political camps were deeply moved by Heinlein's philosophy and intrigued by his wide and popular appeal, yet embarrassed by their inability to synthesize his ideals or track their lineage.59 And why? They were looking in all the right [read: intellectually approved] areas. And Heinlein couldn't be found there.

Is Stranger's finished structure built with a missing key? Yes. The key is the Martian language, and there never was a niftier elixir vital. Stranger's basic idea of enlightenment is that Martian language provides such a clear framework of the universe that the human mind is opened to new vistas. The idea comes from something that Einstein said about (human) language insisting on stable coordinate systems despite physics' demonstrable evidence to the contrary. Moreover, Heinlein was a fan of Korzybski, the father of general semantics, who proved that the ability of language to entrain people reinforces a greatly flawed (linguistically derived) concept of the universe. Kipling summed it up another way with the ape chant, "We're all right because we say we are, and if we say we are it must be true."60 It is interesting to note that Crowley's prescription for enlightenment involved separating sensory data from its linguistic framework61 preparatory to the real work of fathoming the universe thereby revealed. Such notables as Dr. Tim Leary, Dr. John Lilly, Dr. Israel Regardie, Dr. Wilhelm Reich, R. Buckminster Fuller, Robert Anton Wilson, and Peter Carroll -- all of whom credit Crowley as being a strong influence -- describe experiments designed to accomplish the intended goal of 'the Martian 101 cure.' We'll cover these in a later article.

Back to the thesis... Does grokking Stranger cause a level of cognition that results radical evolution in thought and expression? Yes, there are examples throughout this article. Also examine the character of the period immediately following Stranger. The Sexual and Consciousness Revolutions were typified by the major themes of Heinlein (and Crowley). The motto was, "Do your own thing!" The questions were: "Who is in charge of my life, my body, my soul, my world? Who says they're in charge? Who'll be my role model, now that my role model is gone?" There may have never been such a period in history when so many people were trying so hard to wake up.

Reaction to, and inspiration from, Stranger formed the most prominent movements and social structures of the time. Free love movements sprang up faster than the communes to hold them. Altered consciousness and ESP research moved from Defense labs into everybody's back yards. Authority freaks were strained past their limits in an effort to reestablish control over the myriad grok-flocks who realized that freedom had been a holy icon left to whither in the blind trust of patriarches -- and who now wanted it back. There is no theme present in the years before the Reagan era that wasn't promulgated in Stranger. Yes, this was a book that changed consciousness. It still is.

And, yes, Stranger does indeed have a strong link to the allegorical works it succeeded. Indeed, many of these works and the movements that arose from them are mentioned outright in the text of Stranger. Likewise, the keys to unlock many of Stranger's puzzles are found in their perusal.

But let's examine these early magickal movements a little further before we proceed with our analysis in the hopes of unearthing some critical patterns. The magickal tradition we're tracking begins back before the Egyptians, and wends its way through several identifiable groups that litter Western history. Our first stop is the Gnostics which flourished in Gaul and Iberia during the last half of the Roman Empire and later thumbed their noses at the Pope only to have their thumbs removed in the first of many Roman Catholic genocides around the first millennium. The Gnostics were named for their emphasis on Gnosis, or personal illumination. They eschewed the Catholic doctrine which claimed that knowledge of the divine was accessible only through the intervention of priests. The excesses of the Gnostics seeking personal knowledge were legendary -- gluttony was practiced alongside fasting, heavy drugs complimented sensory deprivation, and sexual abstinence was a kink considered equal to major league varsity group whoopee. All of these were considered part and parcel of the personal search for truth and inquirers were advised to choose many paths. (Heck, they sound like a bunch of hippies.)Most Gnostics groups considered men in all ways equal with women -- in fact it wasn't even an issue. They practiced techniques to avoid procreation, not revering the miracle of birth, but rather favoring the sacrament of sex, of 'growing closer.' The few non-Catholic contemporary records describe these people as having been much more literate, healthier, happier, and longer-lived that the Christian- inspired ignorance, fear and squalor that surrounded them in what was correctly dubbed the Dark Ages. Their chief inspiration was a fellow named (surprise!) Valentinus, an interesting character who just missed being one of the primary influences in Christianity.62 His philosophy was based on personal gnosis, the inherent divinity of each man and woman, the abandonment of atonement as unnecessary, and the importance of personal freedom -- all of which clearly evokes Thelema and Stranger. It is unclear just how Valentinus got Valentine's Day, but he did and we suspect an Illuminati conspiracy. The only other historical Valentini63 don't fit at all and the festival's symbols are definitely both pre-Christian pagan and Gnostic. Valentine's Day originated from the Roman Lupercalia, which was a month long fertility festival closely related to modern Mardi Gras. It was an important event -- the month of February is named after the party props -- and was officiated by a special class of educated priests. Lupercalia, which means the festival of wolf- or dog-men, has even earlier roots in the Arcadian Pan beast-man festival held at Mount Lyceum (from which we get the word and myth of lycanthropy). Part of the worship included much whoopie in the doggie style position. The symbol of Valentinus was taken to be the heart with an arrow through it which is better understood as a doggie-style view of the yoni with a lingam through it. After all, these dudes knew what a heart looked like. This also answers why the Catholics were so all fired opposed to the doggie style position. It wasn't that they were opposed to the act -- it was and is a dearly loved tradition in Rome -- they were opposed any infringement on their monopoly and the best way to tell a Gnostic was by their sexual positivism. Remember that the missionary position gets its name from the Catholic church's missionaries, celibate men all, who were compelled to teach various native peoples how to fuck the One Right & True way. There were many different types and cultures of Gnostics, but what happened to them is history at its worst -- they were murdered outright, every man, woman and child that the Christian butchers could find.64 But the movement didn't die out. Many of the Gnostics were wealthy -- part of what made their genocide so attractive -- and they were able to pack up and move away to open again under a different name, just like the Nest planned to do after their Palm Springs temple was bombed.65 As we'll see, this is one of many important common themes that link Stranger to the Gnostics. But where did the Gnostics go? Historians have often noted the lineage between the Gnostics, Alchemists, minstrels, Grail legends and Templars; many books have covered the subject -- Holy Blood, Holy Grail66 being one of the best. It suggests that the Gnostics re-emerged as the ill-fated Knights Templar (among other groups) to reprise the familiar Gnostic and pagan theme of the Pope's hit men whacking the competition. In the early 14th century, Pope Clement and the French King Phillipe raided the Knight's coffers on the pretext of demon worship, they also found, to their surprise, that the Templars had been a hotbed of, you guessed it, Gnostic and pagan revivalism. After the raid, the Templars scattered to prepared safe houses throughout Europe only to spring up again almost immediately as the Teutonic Knights and as the early Masonic orders and rites -- some of which openly used Templar imagery. These groups effectively combined republican and anti-Papist activities with Templar traditions and found much in common with the still practicing pagans of the British Isles. One can't meander too far into any aspect of Western history without being impressed (and often stumped) by the activities of the Gnostics, the Templars, and the Masons. These mysteries continue into the present day. A few hundred years later, a German Masonic group, inspired by the scientific and occult ferment of the 19th century, formed the Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of Oriental Templars). It was an order held in high esteem even by the very exclusive Scottish Rite masons who were automatically conferred comparable degrees of initiation in the OTO.67 In the early 1910s, the leader of the OTO accosted Aleister Crowley saying that he had published the great secret of the Templars in his text, The Book of Lies. He immediately conferred the 9th degree and accordant responsibilities on Crowley, provided some magickal training, eventually made him head of the English Order and finally willed the world-wide Order to him.68 Crowley later changed the Order to incorporate Thelema and Liber Legis and oversaw its pre-WWII worldwide expansion. It was with the Agape Lodge of this OTO that Parsons and Hubbard were associated.69

The reason for describing all of this history is that Stranger reprises so many of these themes. The Nest is organized around Templar lines, Michael's ideals are clearly Gnostic, and Jubal emerges in later analysis to be of deeply Templar significance. But having also demonstrated that Stranger has its place in the body of allegorical works mentioned earlier, let's return to the text of Stranger itself and examine some of the puzzles and themes that have kept academics puzzling for the past three decades.

The Door into Stranger

In the last paragraph of the preface to the new version of Stranger, Virginia Heinlein departs from her brief history of Stranger to mention that the names of the characters have "great importance to the plot. They were carefully selected: Jubal means 'the father of all,' Michael stands for 'Who is like God?' I leave it for the reader to find out what the other names mean."70

That's about as subtle a challenge as a gauntlet in the face and it makes one wonder exactly why it was so important for her to mention it. Could it be that she and Robert had wanted someone to connect the dots and decode Stranger? Why is this so important now?

Let's go ahead and tackle the names anyway and see what we get. We'll start with Valentine Michael Smith. As Bruce Franklin writes in Robert A. Heinlein: America through Science Fiction:71 "He is: Valentine, both a message of erotic love and a martyred saint; Michael, keeper of the gates of heaven, archangel who leads the heavenly hosts against the forces of evil; Smith, the American everyman. He is also a 'superman' from a culture far in advance of human culture in mysterious ways. And he is unfallen man, the New Adam who has never tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He is likened to Dionysus, and later assumes the name of Apollo. Above all, he is the new messiah, re-enacting the crucifixion, destined to save the elect in a mortally diseased world."72

As we've shown, Valentine most strongly references the early Gnostic; the martyred saints fit into are another story. Michael is the archangel most closely associated with the Holy Grail, another big yoni symbol, and the elemental plane of water for which Michael has great affinity. There were several early cults to the Archangel Michael that worshipped the sword in the cup. Smith might also refer to another famous Thelemite, Wilfried T. Smith, Parsons' first magickal mentor, who headed the Agape Lodge before Parsons was appointed magister templi by Crowley. Crowley disapproved of Smith who ran a fairly sex-drenched lodge and managed to sprinkle his seed widely in the Thelemic community including siring a child by Parsons' first wife. Although it is unclear why this might offend Crowley (of all people!), he nonetheless conspired to remove Smith and wrote a treatise entitled Liber Apotheosis 132: The Hidden God, with which he convinced Smith to retire into intense solo magickal research. This last connection may be tenuous to Stranger, but Smith seems to have been a remarkably charismatic man with more than a hint of religious huckster, much like the Archbishop Digby character whose Fosterite Church so influences Michael.

As we've shown, the character of Valentine Michael Smith follows Crowley's archetypal retelling of the Dionysus/Bacchus myth which later evolved into the Jesus motif. He also fulfills all but one of the prophecies of Liber Legis as the Thelemic messiah who follows, and is heir to, Crowley. (It is interesting to note that Parsons was once widely considered to be Crowley's heir and, as mentioned above, his Babalon Working was designed to invoke yet another heir.) There is another thought here. Ann Lynnworth, a magickal scholar and the author's co-vivant, suggests that Messiahs tend to take their functional forms in books: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha all appear to the vast majority of their flock on paper. In light of her theory, it is interesting that Stranger's impact on society seems to follow along the lines of other Messianic faiths in their early years.73

The sole Liber Legis prophecy that Michael doesn't answer is that he fails to crack the code in Liber Legis.74 What he does do is to open the New Aeon, the Age of the Magickal Child, by the revealing of the Martian language, which may be isomorphic. It is interesting to note that most of the attempts made to crack the Liber Legis code involve some sort of extra-terrestrial connection.75 Although there is still much more information regarding Valentine Michael Smith, there isn't enough space in this article to cover it. Rather let's move on to examine Ben Caxton, the Winchell reporter. Most of Stranger's Part 4 is devoted to Caxton's description and analysis of his experiences in the Nest and his transformation as a result. Through Caxton, the audience gets a box seat in the consciousness of a man undergoing initiation and apotheosis -- not to mention a peek into the inner sanctum of the Gnostic- Templar Nest. His transformation is the very fulcrum of the novel, but who does Caxton represent? In 1910, Crowley staged the Rites of Eleusis at Caxton Hall in London. According to Crowley, and to many of the regulars who wrote about their experiences first hand, these were initiatory experiences which caused personal evolution in the audience members. A precursor to performance art, the Rites were presented as sacred drama and received mixed, but usually bad reviews. Despite the uneven commentary, the Rites ran successfully until the outbreak of WWI in 1914. It becomes clear that Ben Caxton, the man, represents the archetypical initiate who passes from well-accomplished manhood to something larger (godhood?) through a series of initiations which assist in the realization of higher understandings. The process, often psychically painful, demands rigorous self-examination and the continual testing of the initiate's habitual beliefs. Caxton clearly was the subject of such an initiation. And he clearly crosses through the three Thelemically phases in his transition: a man of the earth, the lover and the hermit. This progression is described in Liber Legis76 and is mirrored in most Thelemic societies. A few more observations: Ben is Hebrew for "son of" or "heir to" and Caxton certainly winds up as an heir to Michael's fortune thereby becoming something like Jubal's grandson. Historically, there is only one Caxton of note, Britain's first commercial printer, who doesn't seem to have been so important, but the author has seen this Caxton's name on several odd monuments including the facade of Harvard's famous Widener Library so there may be more here than meets the eye.77 Moving along, we come to the astrologer, Madame Alexandria Vesant who clearly references the Theosophical Society and Krishnamurti movement co-founder Annie Besant. To grok the Vesant/Besant isomorph, remember that the letters B and V are qabalically equal (from the Hebrew letter Beth -- the letter symbolizing magick -- which is pronounced either B or V depending on the addition of a dot in its center). To emphasize this point Heinlein spoon feeds his audience a dialogue78 in which her name is actually spelled out, which may qualify Stranger as the world's most blatant Book of Secrets. Crowley -- and most Thelemites to follow -- had little patience for the Theosophists79, whom he felt were mostly misguided academics, who possessed some laudable inquisitiveness. Vesant, the Stranger astrologer who secretly advises the head of state through his domineering wife (Oh, Nancy, just say, Gno!) , is portrayed as a well-meaning but mercenary charlatan who accidentally accesses a hidden magickal ability that is later expanded upon when she receives Michael's Martian enlightenment.80 Next we come to the most complex character in the story, Heinlein's alter ego and the real star of the show, ladies and gentlemen -- Jubal Harshaw. Decoding Jubal is the most exciting part of the puzzle (so far anyway). It is hard to equate Jubal to any historical character, although he references many, and the only hint we have early in the game is Virginia Heinlein's note that Jubal means the "father of all."81 The biblical Jubal isn't much help82 although the name does translate roughly from the Hebrew into 'father of all'. 83 On the surface, Stranger's Jubal may be paternal and he certainly seems patriarchal, but "Father of All?" Looking deeper, however, there are a few clues in the text that identify Jubal with one of the most striking aspects of the Gnostic-Templar connection. Several times in the text, a horrified Jubal is told that the only accoutrement of note in the minimalist nest is a large hologram of Jubal's head84 which they revere as the "patron saint of the Church" and of whom Michael says he is the "one who groks all." Many of the nestlings actually worship Jubal, much to his chagrin.85 But wait, wasn't there another secret religion that worshipped a sacred head at its center? Indeed, one of the weirdest details to come from the raid on the Templars was that they worshipped a sacred, sometimes bearded, head which was deemed their savior and the fountain of all wisdom. Variations on the theme of a sacred head predate the Templars by thousands of years86, and the theme recurs often in later Templar imitators. The head was worshipped in various ways and referred to by the names Mahomet and Baphomet. Mahomet seems to derive from the Greek word for '[first] principle' or 'source' and has a history of Gnostic use. Mahomet was also contemporarily used as a word meaning simply idol, and some of the more rabid anti-Moslems of the time tried to link the word to Mohammed, accusing the Templars of collaboration with the hated Saracens.87 Baphomet, however, was by far the head's most common appellation and has been translated in various ways. The Moorish Spanish -- the Moors were Islamic, Arabic-speaking Northern Africans who occupied Spain for several centuries and ranged far enough north to put the Black in the Black Irish -- had a word bufihimat (pronounced abufihamet in the Arabic) which means "father [source] of knowledge [wisdom]".88 Another possible derivation is from the Greek baphe metis, which means "baptism of wisdom" which led some theorists to suggest the Templars were a survival of a John the Baptist cult, since John's beheading could easily have been iconized in the manner of Jesus' crucifixion. The most widely accepted translation is that of a code. Spelled backwards (backwards spelling being common in occult works), Baphomet stands for three abbreviations, tem, oph, ab, which enlarge to "Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas" or "the father of the temple of universal peace among men."89 If this sounds precocious for an abbreviation, remember that even fancier abbreviations were common before the advent of typewriters. And there's more... Baphomet survives as a major inspiration in many occult groups that follow. Different likenesses, some stemming from Templar days (and before?) are used, the most common being a (bearded) head90 or goat's head and an allegorical portrait of an androgynous beast-man that combines aspects of goat, dog, ass and man -- Eliphas Levi's rendering is perhaps the most famous example. After popping up in numerous places in Western history, Aleister Crowley adopts the name Baphomet, and the Templar seal, upon assuming the leadership of the OTO, which, the reader remembers, is allegedly the 20th century survival of the original Templars.91 But there's still one level deeper. Baphomet is clearly an eidolon92 of the Arcadian Pan who was the major deity of the Lupercalia, the inspiration of the Greek educated Valentinus, the goat- or horned god revered by both Gnostics and pagans, and, seemingly, the inspiration of the Templars. But the Pan we're talking about isn't the simple satyr that most sanitized Christianized accounts allow, Pan of Arcadia is none other than Bacchus and Dionysus. He is called Pangenitor, the "father of all" and Panphage "the eater (grokker?) of all," and is perceived as the wild, lusty, natural, chaotic intelligence that exists beyond our linguistically enforced illusion of reality. He is symbolized by the goat man or a bearded head. Pan is a favorite of Thelemites who, like the god, deem it holy to "[u]nite passionately with every other form of consciousness, thus destroying the sense of separateness from the Whole."93 One of Crowley's most moving poems, and dynamic invocations, is the Hymn to Pan. Parsons, writing after the Babalon Working, conceives of Babalon as the female eidolon of Pan. Pan and Baphomet are also the principle deities for the Chaos Magick movement, a modern offshoot of Thelema.94

To recap: we have a clear indication that Jubal is Baphomet and that Baphomet is translated in several interesting ways using several languages but always with the same meaning which is "source [or] father of all (wisdom)", an attribute which Michael often ascribes to Jubal.95 But there is still one more level of meaning, and all the sweeter for its blatancy. Towards the end of Stranger, when Vesant, who calls Jubal "an old goat," asks for Jubal's birth information for a horoscope, he replies: "I was born on three successive days..."96 This is a very odd sentence, particularly as a snappy comeback, since it involves the obsolete British term 'successive;' and Heinlein usually writes pure American. What was he up to? Compare this odd sentence from Stranger to the very first sentence in the introduction to Liber Legis which reads, "This book was dictated... on three successive days..."97 That's one hell of a connection. It means that Jubal equals Baphomet and that the 'source of all wisdom' equals 'the source of Thelema.' Or in other words, Jubal is the recapitulation -- or even the source -- of Thelema! As we pointed out however, Liber Legis is the source of Thelema. It is a channelled text, and its author, mentioned in the second sentence of the introduction, is an entity named Aiwass. Does he connect to all of this? In commentaries to Liber Legis collected in The Law Is For All,98 Crowley considered Aiwass to be Baphomet. Thus Heinlein was saying that Jubal Harshaw alias Aiwass alias Baphomet alias Panphage Pangenitor, is the embodiment of Thelema, indeed the source of Thelema and the "father of all." This statement, made over the course of Stranger connects modern Thelema with its vast cultural legacy, its miraculous future and its 'hereditary' connection to another realm of reality. Holy Cosmic Trigger, Batman!

Corollary Observations

We're awfully close to understanding Heinlein's motives now. We've proven the link of Thelema and Stranger, and the link between Heinlein and Thelema. The text of Stranger meets the criteria for allegory and is loaded with puzzles which clearly reference magickal and Thelemic themes. But there are two remaining areas for discussion that are particularly important for this article's proof. One is Heinlein's first hand familiarity with Thelemic societies and the other is the link between Stranger and the Babalon Working. Historically, Heinlein was never a member of the OTO, although he certainly may have seen the Gnostic Mass as it was open to the public. Yet his description of the people and events in the nest are oddly reminiscent of life in secret Thelemic communities.99 One of the first things one notices about practicing Thelemites is their radiant good health and physical charisma. In fact, there are many stories told about people becoming involved with Thelema because they had met several Thelemites and were amazed at how healthy, calm, productive and, well, 'lucky' these Thelemites were. Heinlein certainly makes note of the apparent increases in mental and physical health among members of the nest..

The second aspect of nest life that Heinlein mentions is the calm, synchronized, unhurried, efficient movement one finds among some Thelemites.100 When this author first experienced the strange sense of unconscious choreography in a Thelemic lodge, the description from Stranger leapt to mind. It is a fascinating phenomenon and one not encountered elsewhere. It is a particularly odd observation to make about a 'cult' since, in this author's experience, most members of alternative religions are enormously, even willfully disorganized. (It is said that managing pagans is like herding cats.) Finally, the social life in secret Thelemic communities often centers around food, work and deep play with no wasted time, exactly as portrayed in the nest. Heinlein paints an exceptionally accurate picture of an eminently healthy, vibrant people and their pleasant comings and goings, shared mealtimes, and oddly synchronized spontaneity. This precisely Thelemic picture seems improbable for him to have deduced without having been involved with a magickal community. The question is: Which one? None of the Thelemic communities or scholars this author has approached remember Heinlein as more than a terrific writer. Indeed, most are surprised by the Thelemic connection. Here is another area for research.

This recalls Heinlein's link with Parsons. As a part of the Babalon Working, Parsons 'received' a short 'book' entitled Liber 49 or The Book of Babalon. Parsons claims it was the fourth chapter to Liber Legis, a claim which made him less than popular with Crowley and the OTO. Regardless of this claim, it is a powerful text that deals mostly with the coming of the Thelemic heir. There are two parts in particular that stand out after reading Stranger. The first is part of the channeled instructions to Parsons for the ritual -- it advises him to clear his mind in preparation: "Consult no book but thine own mind. Thou art god. Behave at this altar as one god before another." 101 It is interesting to note that these words were mouthed, not by Parsons, but by his Scribe, L. Ron Hubbard, who was close friends with Heinlein at about the same time the latter was working on his first shot at Stranger. The other Babalon Working quote which stands out, and there are many quotes which are not so overt, comes from Liber 49 which Parsons channeled alone out in the desert -- e.g., sans Hubbard: "37 For I am BABALON, and she my daughter, unique, and there shall be no other women like her. 38. In My Name shall she have all power, and all men and excellent things, and kings and captains and the secret ones at her command. 39. The first servants are chosen in secret, by my force in her - a captain, a lawyer, an agitator, a rebel - I shall provide." (Italics added)

Of course, throughout Stranger, Michael's first friends, later referred to as the "First Called," line up in exactly that order. Captain Von Tromp of the Challenger, is the first character one meets in Stranger. Jubal Harshaw is an invaluable attorney to Michael as well as part time MD, and full time Baphomet. Ben Caxton is a Winchell reporter and professional fly in the ointment who mobilizes Stranger by using Michael as a lever with the current administration. Gillian Boardman is a nurse who literally tosses her career away to steal Michael out from under the noses of Federation Security. Liber 49 predicts that the magickal child will have powers and guidance from beyond to assist through the early years. This seems to track with Stranger in the way that Michael shows an uncanny knack for attracting good people and having events roll his way and is even observed by Jubal Harshaw and others throughout the book.

All of this brings us back to one big question: Why? In Heinlein's letters he claimed that besides making money and entertaining his readers, he wanted them to think, to ask questions.102 But that doesn't add up. Heinlein was a great writer; he could have asked all of these questions without all the codes. The answer must lie elsewhere.

So let's review: Heinlein is involved in a secret Thelemic society composed of artists, writers, scientists, and other advanced and odd minded folk. Their magick works, their lives are transformed and it is time to transmit their message to a vast number of people who desperately need to evolve. There is no interest in repeating the 'burning times' of their spiritual forebears, who rose up, were murdered, and rose again like some ontological Phoenix. And, to make matter worse, the gods had somehow selected Crowley as the channel for their newest batch of goodies only to see Crowley (and his followers) spectacularly martyred in one of the most vicious press assassinations of our century. There was only one thing to do. We had done it many times before: Go into hiding and open up under a new name. And that is exactly what Heinlein did. He designed Stranger to be a magickal seed containing the spiritual and intellectual DNA of Thelema, which he placed into the fertile loam of his times, sowing a crop which includes the neo-pagan, ecosophical, sexual and consciousness movements -- not to mention much of the current trend in Thelema. For any who cared to track his ideas, Heinlein encoded many additional lessons. And he included enough clues so that, some day, as a healthy, vibrant race of magickal women and men prepared to take to the stars, they'd come to know that the man who continued the sacred lineage of Valentinus, the Gnostics and the Templars, and who nursed it through the 20th century, the "man who sold the stars" was none other than, the 'father of us all', Robert Anson Heinlein.

Finis

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1 Most of "the 60s" as a popular movement didn't even start until around ' 65 and didn't really end until well after Nixon got re-elected in '72. The most active period occurred between 1968-74 and in fact, most of "the '60s" are still happening. Referring to "the 60s" quarantines a radical, ongoing, whole systems transition and reduces it to a mere historical fad.

2 There are at least three secret Stranger-inspired, nest-type organizations that survive to this day, mostly centered in communities near major universities.

3 Heinlein's unfulfilled predictions are even more unsettling. It is revealing to track the historical paths that resulted in his missed predictions. For example, why does our era lacks robotics, greater energy efficiency, or wide-spread use of an improved technology for reading. Why do we have a (relatively) failed space program and a (relatively) failed parapsycholgy program? Why is there an increase of world hunger juxtaposed with historically unprecedented gluttony. Heinlein predicted enough direct hits that we might ask: What do his misses fail to account for? What mistakes have we made?

4 Just recently in Massachusetts, a group of Thelemites who were pulled over for speeding, were hassled for being Satanists by the State Police. They were arrested, had their ritual gear confiscated, and interrogated on their religious practices. Much of the behind doors bargaining that took place over an illegal weapons charge -- an athame and a finely crafted art sword -- centered on the arresting officer's desire to keep the sword as a trophy. Since all charges were dropped a lawsuit is impossible, but the Thelemites lost days of time and thousands of dollars. The burning times rage unabated...

5 Near his death, Crowley published a collection of his letters in Magick Without Tears (republished in 1989 with Ordo Templi Orientis OTO and Falcon Press) which is widely regarded as his most accessible work. Currently OTO's longest continuously operating lodge, Thelema Lodge in Berkeley, offers a class entitled, "Magick Without Aleister" on non- Crowleyan magickal traditions in the hopes of getting something done besides living down the C-word.

6 The Book of the Law (also titled Liber Al vel Legis and referred to as Liber Legis) I 39.

8 We feel that this sentence, "To actively acknowledge and actively worship the divinity in oneself, in certain concepts and in every other living thing," is functional definition of grok.

9 The Old and New Commentaries to Liber AL by Aleister Crowley, edited by William E. Heidrick, available in ASCII from OTO, see commentary on I-40.

10 Ibid, see also The Law Is For All, by Aleister Crowley, edited by Dr. Israel Regardie, Falcon Press, Phoenix, AZ, 1986, p. 97-98.

11 The Original Uncut Stranger in a Strange Land, Ace Books, 1961, 1991, p. 184. By the way, Otter Zell makes a very important point in his Litha 1991 Green Egg Editorial that the originally published, shorter version of Stranger is the better of the two. This author wholeheartedly agrees. Among other things, Stranger would not have been nearly so important had it not included Heinlein's critical definition of love. The additional apocrypha of the uncut Stranger are interesting and fun, but that doesn't make it a better book nor is it nearly worth the loss of the old Stranger.

12 There are many references to this in Thelemic literature. In an essay entitled "Liber DCCCXXXVII -- The Law of Liberty," Crowley writes that he always begins his speech or letters -- even his greetings to his butcher -- with the Law of Thelema to remind people that "[w]e are all free, all independent, all shining gloriously, each one a radiant world."

13 Liber Legis, I 57.

14 There are many forms of greeting exchange in fraternal groups where they serve the role of passwords, slogans, etc. A wide variety of magickal groups, military cadres, and secret societies use them for security purposes. In Thelemic groups there are many versions of the exchanges mentioned above. Some Thelemic groups greet each other with the words, "Thelema" and "Agape", the Greek words for Great Will and Great Love. And in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," Wyld Stallyns create an utopian future based on their inspired Fool-ishness in which the greeting amongst all people is "Be excellent," and "Party on" which capture the same form, spirit and meaning.

15 This is another facet of grokking, see footnote 8. Also refer to the rest of the passage in Liber Legis I-57 and Crowley's notes in Commentaries and Law is for All.

16 Grumbles, p. 285.

17 Hassan was best known for the radical consciousness cult he founded back in the eleventh century at about the same time the Gnostics were getting their second wind. Known primarily for their great stash and dynamic foreign policy, later commentators called them the Assassins.

18 Stranger, p. 509.

19 Grumbles, p. 248.

20 The seventh Theorem of Magick, from Magick in Theory and Practice, Master Therion (Aleister Crowley), Castle Books, Seacaucus, NJ, 1991, p. xiv.

21 For example, the word Thelema may have first been used in its present form by the 16th century satirist Rabelais whose fictional Abbey of Theleme probably inspired Crowley's later Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu, Sicily. Other influences included Eliphas Levi, Dr. John Dee, and McGregor Mathers. Some Thelemites believe that Thelema is a form of esoteric Buddhism.

22 Stranger, p. 380.

23 From a conversation with Hymenaeus Beta.

24 So far as this author has found, this is the earliest mention of the term New Age in its current context.

25 These occur throughout Liber Legis, one example is found in Book II, verse 76. "What meaneth this, o prophet? Thou knowest not; nor shalt thou ever know. But cometh one to follow thee: he shall expound it."

26 Consult Liber CI by Aleister Crowley "An Open Letter to Those Who May Wish to Join the Order, Enumerating the Duties and Privileges." It precisely describes, both in scope and in detail, the ties that one finds in Stranger among water brothers and is only one of many similar texts. Later OTO heads greatly reduced this ideal since the OTO is a public legal entity and many of the duties are impossible under US and other law.

27 Stranger, p. 423. The complete Gnostic Mass is known as Liber XV and is usually found as an appendix to "Magick in Theory and Practice."

28 Magick, Inc., Ace Publishing, New York, 1941. Pagan fans will be pleased to read that heroine who saves the day is a hag who rails at length that witches are may things by nature (by Nature!), but evil isn't one of them.

29 Heinlein's thaumaturgy in Magic, Inc. is strongly based on the elemental workings described in Transcendental Magick, perhaps the most widely respected occult work of the 19th century. It was written by the influential clergyman and magician Eliphas Levi with whom Crowley was greatly impressed. Later synchronicity and meditation convinced Crowley that Levi, who died shortly before the his birth, was his previous incarnation.

30 This is reminiscent of the conversations in Stranger (p. 486-7, 511 for example) concerning the economic vectors caused by a reliable Martian magick. Also note a recent HBO movie, Cast A Deadly Spell, which seems to have drawn some inspiration from Heinlein's story.

31 Grumbles, p. 62-4. Heinlein mentions Murder, Inc. in a 1949 letter defending his opposition to gun control -- its connection to the plot of Magic, Inc. is obvious. Note that in our present culture, magick isn't outlawed per se, but it is repressed and its study is ridiculed. Also note that magick is pursued successfully both by government and organized crime.

32 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley, edited by Israel Regardie, Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach, ME, 1973.

33 Grumbles, p. 285 and throughout the text.

34 In the June, 1988 edition of Locus, author Spider Robinson describes two occasions in which Heinlein played the friendly wizard. The first instance came years after the two had met, just once, at a science fiction event. It seems Heinlein sent Robinson a check out of the blue for the exact amount of Robinson's back rent plus $100 which arrived at the last possible moment. Robinson says that nobody -- not even his agent -- knew he was that broke. The second story involved the Robinson family stranded far from home on their daughter's birthday. Heinlein called -- how did he know where they were or get the number? -- and cheered the little girl, saying she could have a second birthday with her friends when she got home. There are many other stories like these.

35 Grumbles, p. 35.

36 Grumbles, p. 43. Grumbles is mostly letters between Heinlein and Blassingame.

37 There are several articles on Parsons, but the best so far, and the source cited for this article is "Jack Parsons: Sorcerous Scientist" by Douglas Chapman, in Strange Magazine #6, PO Box 2246, Rockville, MD 20847. The magazine is highly recommended.

38 Parsons was the first member of OTO to achieve the 8th degree by dint of time and labor, most upper degrees having been historically awarded for administrative or political expediency. There is only one other OTO member to have accomplished this and his is also a compelling story.

39 Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword and Other Essays by John Whiteside Parsons, edited by Cameron and Hymenaeus Beta, Ordo Templi Orientis, New York in association with Falcon Press, Las Vegas, 1989.

40 From an interview with Marjorie Cameron. Heinlein was a the first person Jack Parsons ever introduced her to. She didn't care for Heinlein too much, with his ascot and pipe he was "too slick, too Hollywood. But Jack and he were quite good friends."

41 Check out Heinlein's 1952 short story, "The Year of the Jackpot" (anthologized in The Menace from Earth, Signet, 1959) in which protagonist Potipher Breen is a mathematician who tracks odd cycles and develops a theory of periodicity which links UFOs and flying saucers to mass human behavior and which functions at the meta level of personal will. At one point, Breen discovers a church which has reinstituted ritual nudity, "Probably [for] the first time in a thousand years, aside from some screwball cults in Los Angeles. The reverend gentleman claimed that the ceremony was identical with the 'dance of the high priestess' in the temple of Karnak."

42 Liber Legis, I 55-56.

43 Stranger, 103-4.

44 Magick in Theory and Practice, p. 13.

45 Grumbles, p. 285. This was the letter to Otter mentioned in footnote 8.

46 The "Alice" series remains a classic of multiplex meaning treasured by logicians and mathematicians (for whom it is a delight), quantum physicists (for whom it was an inspiration), and qabalists (for whom it was a textbook). By the by, math, physics, and qabala are strikingly convergent in the days of Thelema -- have a dinner party and invite some practitioners!

47 da Vinci's artwork represented a radical change in implied perspective and, indeed, the raison d'etre of art itself. He caused as much outrage among established classical artists as delight in the crop of Renaissance artists he inspired. His overt sensualism, coded anti-religion, and dabbles in the "forbidden" field of natural philosophy (the precursor to experimental science) nearly got him burned alive.

48 Many authors, beginning with Fulcanelli, have detailed the strange designs of the Gothic cathedrals and their implied heretical, particularly Gnostic, meanings.

49 Rodin and his allegorical sculpture plays a great part in Stranger, particularly the uncut version. On pages 395-399 of Stranger, Jubal gives Ben a first class lesson on Rodin and allegorical sculpture. Not mentioned is that Rodin and Crowley were strong mutual admirers. In fact, Rodin was so taken by young Crowley and his poetry that he extended an invitation for a collaboration of poetry and sculpture which lasted for several projects. See The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, p. 338-345

50 Somebody ought to look for the neurotransmitters involved in "Aha!"

51 Stranger, p. 460-1. This is one whale of a grand puzzle, but will have to wait for later publication.

52 Stranger, p. 172. Let's save the readers some trouble: Despite the set-up, our's and Heinlein's, the Berquist code doesn't exist. It is just meaningful-sounding nonsense (amphigory) designed to incite Captain Heinrich (get it, Hein lein, Hein rich?) to send the posse. Then again, maybe we missed something...

53 Stranger, p. 85. The short version of this very complex story is that Cato, a famous Roman statesman, closed a series of passionate speeches to the Senate of Rome with the words, "Carthage is to-be-destroyed." Cato thus precipitated the Third Punic War which ended in Rome's utter destruction of the vastly under-matched Carthage. The quote's common contemporary meaning translates roughly as Kruchev's "We will bury you." or Eastwood's "Make my day!"

54 Stranger, p. 368-370 and throughout the text.

55 Years ago, in a conversation with a famous Catholic Archbishop, he confided that Stranger was the "beginning of the end' of Catholicism. It was after Stranger became popular that traditional churches really suffered diminishing attendance and folks started suggesting that "God is dead".

56 Heinlein claimed it wasn't science fiction. He refers to it as a "Cabellesque satire on religion and sex, [and] not science fiction by any stretch of the imagination." (Grumbles, p. 262) (Italics his.)

57 Grumbles, p. 262-3.

58 Robert A. Heinlein: America Through Science Fiction by H. Bruce Franklin, Oxford University Press, New York, 1968, p. 127.

59 One popular rumor spawned by the public's inability to reconcile a man who could write Stranger at about the same time as Starship Troopers, was that Heinlein's works were really written by his wife. While Virginia Heinlein seems an impressive woman in many ways, and it is clear that her input was frequent and invaluable, she wasn't Bacon to Heinlein's Shakespeare. The point of the rumor is that people were at a loss to c omprehend Heinlein's vector.

60 Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling -- another story of a human boy reared by aliens.

61 Part I of Book 4 by Aleister Crowley, Samuel Weiser, York Beach, ME, 1980, is a simple, detailed description of this process. It is also uncommonly devoid of the dense, eclectically pun-laden text for which Crowley is famous, making this a good read for the beginner.

62 Valentinus was fairly influential in Rome around the first century A.D. and seemed poised for superstardom. The famous Ptolemy, who codified the stupidest system of astronomy known to man, counted himself among Valentinus' many fans. At the peak of his career, Valentinus was offered an archbishopric in Rome in exchange for his testimony that Roman law and order took precedence over personal enlightenment. It isn't recorded what he said, all we know is that he left town and started a commune in the sticks, freeing up the position for a more viable (or at least buy-able) Christian.

63 The two Catholic saints named Valentine were early Christian martyrs known for their grisly deaths and not their sermons.

64 In 1209, thirty-thousand knights and soldiers under the orders of Pope Innocent III stormed the Cathar region of Languedoc and began a massacre in which "neither age nor sex nor status [were] spared." In the city of Bezier, some fifteen thousand men, women, and children took refuge in the church only to be butchered when the commander said, "Kill them all. God will recognize his own." Some eight centuries later this callous blood- lust would become the de facto motto of the American forces in Viet Nam.

65 Stranger, p. 491-2.

66 Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Biagent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, Dell Publishing, New York, 1983. This is an delightfully controversial, spell-binding journey through some of the weirdest historical mysteries from the Middle Ages to modern times.

67 "History of the "OTO" by William E. Heidrick, OTO, Fairfax, 1986.

68 See the Foreword to The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley, Samuel Weiser, York Beach, ME, 1980. The exact details of this story are the subject of debate, e.g., the text seems to have been Equinox I:VII published in 1912, and not The Book of Lies.

69 Hubbard was never a member of the OTO. He paid no dues, received no initiations and may not have qualified for membership.

70 Preface to Stranger.

71 Robert A. Heinlein: America through Science Fiction, Oxford University Press, NY, 1960.

72 Ibid, p. 128.

73 From a conversation with Ann Lynnworth.

74 Liber Legis, II 76. Ann Lynnworth points out that we cannot know if Michael broke the code unless Heinlein had Michael breaking a code, which he doesn't, or unless we had already broken the code and found the answer elsewhere in Stranger. We haven't and the subject remains indeterminate, but doubtful.

75 Recently a Washington state Thelemic scholar, Anthra-Andromeda, published a solution to the code and claimed it heralded an extra-terrestrial Child. And Francis King, one of the most famous British Thelemites claimed Parsons' Babalon working was directly responsible for the flying saucer phenomenon that occurred shortly thereafter. For that matter, a 1907 sketch of an Enochian entity contacted by Crowley looks very similar to the beasties that Whitley Streiber writes about in Communion. Actually there are many compelling links between Crowley, the Enochian work, and UFOs.

76 Liber Legis, I 40.

77 A final note is that Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a very popular 19th century author and politician, who wrote extensively about adventure and occult themes and whose ideas inspired many modern fictional and occult authors, wrote a popular novel entitled The Caxtons which may have a connection.

78 Stranger, p. 128.

79 Book 4, p14. Crowley describes Anna Kingsford, another founding Theosophist as being "handicapped by a brain that was a mass of putrid pulp." Nobody ever said he was a nice man.

80 Stranger, 481-2. This is one of the niftiest short explanations of astrology you'll ever read.

81 Preface, Stranger.

82 The biblical Jubal gets little mention. He is the son of Lamech and Adah and credited as being the inventor of instrumental music.

83 It is interesting to note that Heinlein himself is often referred to not only as the Father of Science Fiction, but also as a personal father figure for many people. In a collection of Heinlein memoria gathered shortly after his death and published as The Man Who Sold America: Heinlein in Dementia edited by D.S. Black, Atlantis Press, San Francisco, 1988, many of the contributors begin be saying Heinlein was the father they never had. It seems Heinlein never had any children of his own, although the dedication of Grumbles is "For Heinlein's Children".

84 Stranger, p. 416. After the nest is bombed, Caxton tells Jubal that Michael salvaged only the important things through apportation including a special Martian typewriter, some clothes, some cash, and the hologram of Jubal's head.

85 Stranger, p. 477-8.

86 For example, several linguistic clues in Stranger point back to biblical mentions of Carmel whose ancient name was Rosh Kadesh, or Sacred Head.

87 Encyclopedia of Paranormal and Supernatural, p. 159-60.

88 Holy Blood, Holy Grail, p. 83.

89 Transcendental Magic, Eliphas Levi, p. 258.

90 Alchemists, for example, refer to a phase called caput mortuum or 'dead head' -- Hey, Jerry Garcia! -- which precedes the precipitation of the philosophers stone. And, Zardoz is a Qabalically inspired allegorical film of the mid-70s (starring Sean Connery) which features a large flying head that holds a remarkable number of meanings.

91 "History of the OTO"

92 Eidolon is a technical magickal term which means an attribute that references a deity but does not encompass that deity's essence. For example, the Magus Card, Loki, fiber optic impulses, and the Trickster, are eidolons of a god called Mercury. Each of these attributes evoke hermetic energy; none of them capture his essence. A second meaning is a mask or alias that a god may choose.

93 From a widely circulated essay entitled "Duty" by Crowley. The theme of passionate union with all aspects of creation and its connection with Pan is common and appears in much the same language in a number of Thelemic works. It stems from a Liber Legis passage in which the goddess Nuit, who is all of creation, describes herself in quantum terms and adds: "...I am divided for love's sake for the chance of union. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all." (Liber Legis I 29-30)

94 For more on Chaos Magick, read Liber Null & Psychonaut, by Peter J. Carroll, Samuel Weiser, 1987, 1991. Check out the Baphomet essay, p. 156-61

95 This is an amazing example of literary punning. Jubal is the 'father of all' in four languages and a code to boot! Nice foot work. Also note that punning and multi-level, hidden humor are usually indicators in this kind of research that you're on the right track.

96 Stranger, p. 499.

97 Liber Legis, Introduction 1.

98 The Law Is For All, Falcon Press, Phoenix, AZ, 1986, p. 79. 99 The modern OTO is not the only Thelemic society, although it is the largest single group and the source of much wonderful scholarship. It is however a public organization. There are many other secret Thelemic groups scattered all over the world, some of which have been in continuous operation for more than fifty years. Most of these observations apply to the secret societies.

100 Stranger, p. 475-6.

101 The Collected Works of Jack Parsons, OTO, NY from the "First Ritual of the Book of Babalon".

102 Grumbles, p. 285.

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